The New Media Epidemic

The Undermining of Society, Family, and Our Own Soul

By Jean-Claude LarchetTranslated by Archibald Andrew Torrance

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Description

If we realize how gravely sick is our civilization, we may gain strength to resist.

Philosopher and patrologist Dr Jean-Claude Larchet, renowned for his examinations of patristic writings on the causes and consequences of spiritual and physical illness, here diagnoses the pathologies of new media in a society that is eager for speed, proximity and immediacy. Writing in an accessible and straightforward manner he examines the harm and illusion brought by the invasion of digital devices—from radio to networked smart phones and beyond. He analyzes their all-encompassing impact on society and personal life.

This meticulous diagnosis of new media’s insidious effects — bodily, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual —concludes with a discussion of the ways individuals might limit and counteract the most deleterious of these, with the aim that they might “discover once more the authentically human and spiritual communion that we have lost.”   

Additional information

Author Name

Jean-Claude Larchet

Format

ED

Publication Date

20190301

Imprint

Publisher

Translator

Archibald Andrew Torrance

Language

English

Book Dimensions

0

Format Detail

eBook

Author Biography

Dr Jean-Claude Larchet is one of the most notable living theologians and authors on Orthodox Christian Patristics. He holds a Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Nancy and a Ph.D. in theology from the University of Strasbourg. A teacher of philosophy for nearly thirty-five years, he is an author of over thirty-five books and countless articles whose work has been translated into nineteen languages. His magnum opus, Therapy of Spiritual Illness, and several other works have been translated into English to wide acclaim.

Prof. Andrew Torrance graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1968 and obtained a Ph.D. in 1971 from Imperial College, London. After work in France and England he joined the teaching staff at Trinity College, Dublin in 1980, where he became an Associate Professor, Head of Mechanical Engineering and Fellow of the College. In 2002 he was Visiting Professor at INSA de Lyon. Since his retirement in 2008 he has lived in France with his wife Marie-Christiane where he regularly translates from French to English for Orthodox Monasteries and engineering research.

Contents

Contents

Introduction

1          Invasion

2          When the Medium Replaces the Message

3          The Tyranny of the New Mediators

4          Shrinking Distance and Time

5          The Destruction of Interpersonal Relationships

6          Evil Encounters

7          The Abolition of Private Life

8          The Denial of the Body and Its Effects on Health

9          The Dominance of the Virtual over the Real

10        Mental Disorders

11        Dumbing Down the Mind

12        The Impoverishment of Spiritual Life

13        Prevention and Treatment

            Notes

            Subject Index